Mental Health in 15 Lessons

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Mental Health in 15 Lessons

• By MarkHuttemier
• Personal Counselor at UWRF

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Depression!

• Results from too much time thinking about the
  past.
• The past is out of our control and, for many
  people, can be a hopeless and confusing place.

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Anxiety/Stress!

• Results from too much time spent
  thinking/worrying about the future.
• Anxiety comes from speculating too much about
  things that we dont have any immediate control
  over.

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The Present!

• In the present we can be our optimal selves.
• We feel in control because, indeed, we have
  control over our lives in the present.
• Living in the present produces less anxiety
  because issues are addressed as they occur vs.
  speculating about what may occur and being able
  to do little about it but worry until it
  happensif it does happen...

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The Present/Mindfulness

• How do we live more of our lives in the present?
  The best way is to practice daily self-care.
  You have to practice this because if you dont it
  will be very difficult, and perhaps stressful, to
  summon it when you most need it.
• Self-care is meditation, socializing, a
  personal hobby, playing board games, playing
  sports, yoga, karate, all forms of exercise,
  getting out in nature, readingany activity that
  keeps your focus on what is in front of you, what
  is going on in the here-and-now.

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Talk to a Therapist or someone who will just
listen.

• Talking about our feelings is more helpful than
  you know.
• Connecting a physical feeling with a word helps
  our brain process and adjust to what our body is
  experiencing.
• Processing feelings gives us a sense of control
  over something that just felt overwhelming and
  suffocating before.
• That is why listening is more valuable than
  giving advice when a person is feeling down or
  anxious.

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You have to MOVE!

• Exercise is the easiest way any individual can
  start to take hold over their mental health
  situation.
• Exercising 3 to 4 times a week for just 25
  minutes a shot has been show by numerous
  researchers to be the most efficient and
  effective way anyone can maintain their own
  mental health/sense of well-being.
• If you have mild anxiety or depression get on
  this and you will notice the positive mood
  effects right away.

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Volunteer your way to Health

• Volunteer work is the second easiest way to
  promote our own mental health stability.
• Research shows that volunteering time to support
  a worthy cause produces a sense of well-being
  that grounds are self-identity and promotes our
  sense of belonging in the community.
• Volunteering also has a role in helping us feel
  grateful. Being grateful is a necessary
  meditation that helps us remember that nothing
  should be taken for granted and that we have much
  to be thankful for.
• Career services can help anyone find volunteer
  opportunities near River Falls.

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Be Assertive/Have good Boundaries

• Be aware of how much time you are giving to those
  people who suck you of emotional and physical
  energy. You know what I mean.
• This type of relationship is a self-esteem
  killer.
• Learn how to say NO to these types of people
  without feeling guilty!!!
• Practice saying no with friends or just in the
  mirror. Once you got it you will learn how easy
  and effective the word NO can be in effectively
  managing your life.
• Invest your time in people who effectively give
  back to you your investment of time and energy.
• This type of relationship builds your self-esteem
  and frees up time for you to continue to pursue
  your own life interests.
• Practice saying yes to these types of people.

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Listen better!

• Listening is indeed an act of Love. It builds
  relationships and makes first dates go better.
• Listen without judgment or advice and watch what
  happens.
• People who listen dont have to hire pallbearers
  at their funeral, which is to say they are well
  liked.

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Do yourself a favordont be needy.

• Neediness show desperation and it pushes people
  away.
• If you need too much from others it builds
  co-dependent, stagnant, and chaotic,
  relationships.
• If you feel needy its time to examine ways that
  you may begin to fulfill that need in yourself
  without having to continually suffer the
  disappointment of others constantly letting you
  down.
• Figure out what it is you need and get it
  yourself. This notion includes being assertive
  with others about what you want so that they
  dont have to guess what it might take to please
  you.
• Both Buddha and Yoda state that suffering comes
  from feeling like we need things that we do not
  have. So pay attention to those things you feel
  you need that you may be able to fulfill in
  yourself, and if you cant fulfill them its best
  to assume you dont need them so that you dont
  have to suffer so much. If you can do this you
  will treat your precious relationships more
  fairly and they will be that much healthier and
  sustainable.

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Intellectualize what it means to be Suicidal.

• The desire to commit suicide is always a sign of
  mental illness, and that illness is usually
  severe depression.
• A mental illness is treatable and there are
  professionals who are very successful at treating
  it.
• Suicidal thoughts absolutely will pass with time
  and professional help. People do cycle back to
  feeling ok again with help.
• It is so scary that a temporary condition can
  lead to such permanent results. Dont be fooled
  by your depressed brain.

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Take Action on Your own behalf

• Be proactive- Learning to turn thoughts and
  ideas into action takes practice and maybe even a
  lesson or two from a counselor on problem solving
  skills.
• The risk of failing when you take action on
  something important to you is always worth it.
  WHY? Because if you achieve what you set out to
  do you are rewarded, if you dont achieve what
  you set out to do still learn something valuable
  for the next time you try.
• Live life by taking calculated risks! Dont be
  paraNOID and avoid making life happen for you.

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Say Yes to Mistakes

• Mistakes are great. Go out and make them.
• Mistakes are bad if you choose not to learn from
  them after you make them.
• Trying to be perfect, not make mistakes, is a
  lesson in futility and stifles personal growth.
• Mistakes show you the many different options and
  choices there are in life.
• There is always a plan B, so go out there and
  make life work for you.

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Choice

• Do not forget. As long as you are not in jail,
  you have choices in your life.
• You have a choice to do what you are doing right
  now.
• You have a choice in what you think about and a
  choice to make changes in your life. Honor this
  power and use it!

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Drugs and Alcohol

• Dont make them the most important thing in your
  life. People who do this crash and burn. They
  also get very boring to be around.
• Did you know that people who are addicted to
  substances pretty much stay the same emotional
  age as the day the got hooked? Met any
  40-year-old burnouts who still act as if they are
  18?....me too

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Best Advice Ever

• Simple Living Saves Lives
• Work to simplify your existence. Hints- Finish
  one thought or action before starting another.
  It will teach you to be present, your optimal
  self/your authentic self, in everything you do!
• If you are at a birthday party, be there, if you
  are at class, be there, if you are camping, be
  there. I really is hard work to do this and you
  will need to practice this but you want to have
  this skill. Its the secret of happiness.
  Happiness, if you didnt know, is just simple the
  ability to be content.

So much dependsupon a red wheelbarrow glazed
with rainwater beside the whitechickens. By
William Carlos Williams
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Send Students to Counseling

• Build trusting relationships with the students on
  your floor.
• When they are struggling with anxiety,
  depression, stress, or other maladaptive symptoms
  that are not conducive to them reaching their
  social or academic goals, send them to us we
  want to help.
• Check out our wicked awesome website.
  http//www.uwrf.edu/counseling

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Questions or Comments?